I find it particularly gratifying to help young researchers learn about the research process and apply it to topics of interest to them. Many of my students become part of the C2C research lab working in multigenerational teams across disciplines including Economics, SPPUA, Criminal Justice, Sociology, Health, and Network Science. All students have access to a common space to work, weekly research lunches and seminars, and once a semester social gatherings. Most of my post-doctoral and Ph.D. students become co-authors on one or more of my projects and continue to collaborate with me even after they have left Northeastern to pursue their careers.
In addition to helping students complete a high-quality thesis, capstone, or dissertation in a timely manner, I have also used my professional networks to ensure top job placements. I have helped place each of my Ph.D. students at either an academic institution (e.g., University of Minnesota, Bowdoin College) or at a prestigious private sector firm (e.g., Amazon, Analysis Group). I have also advised dozens of master’s students and have helped place them in various policy positions (e.g., City of Boston, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston). Finally, I have advised many undergraduate students and written letters of recommendation for graduate programs in economics, law, and public policy with several students landing in top programs (e.g., Harvard Law, Boston University Department of Economics).
I firmly believe that mentoring is an important aspect of teaching—particularly for those students who belong to traditionally underrepresented groups in the economics profession such as women, people of color, LGBTQ, and those from low-income households. My commitment is evidenced by founding DiversEcon, a multigenerational student group, as well as being awarded the William T. Grant Foundation Mentoring Grant to support junior researchers of color.
“Dr. Modestino has been one of the most important mentors in my life, beyond just research. After my first semester of working with her, Dr. Modestino sought out a grant application(the William T. Grant Foundation career mentoring award)for me that, if awarded, would allow me to get funding for my research and career development. She guided me through the application process which ultimately won me a grant of$60,000(given to only 7 students nationally in 2019); this allowed me to work exclusively on my dissertation and partnered projects throughout my PhD program and present my research at multiple domestic and international conferences. Throughout my PhD program, Dr. Modestino met with me once every week for an hour to discuss my research progress and my mental wellbeing. She went above and beyond her role as my advisor and offered me emotional support through some of my toughest times when I didn’t think I could get through the program.” – Dr. Urbashee Paul, Ph.D. in Economics 2022, Senior Economist, Keystone [Read More]
“Serving as a member of my dissertation committee, Dr. Modestino took time out of her overbooked schedule to meet with me every week during my final year in the program, giving me the opportunity to share the progress I was making on my job market paper, and coaching me through every step of completing the dissertation and applying to jobs. I also got to know her on a personal level through many of these conversations and felt comfortable opening up to her about some of the struggles I faced during the program and in my life in general, and found that she was not just supportive of the work I was doing, but also of myself as an individual. Dr. Modestino has had a profound impact on me. My research and output during my program would have suffered without her, and I know that am not alone in thinking that.” – Zach Finn, Ph.D. Economics 2025, Analyst, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission [Read More]
“Alicia is the most genuine and supportive advisor and mentor. During the third-year of my PhD study, I was a bit lost searching for advisor and committee chair after several professors in my areas of interest has left/retired from the school. I asked Alicia to be my advisor and dissertation chair as I knew she would be a perfect fit due to my research interests in economic analysis. Ever since then, Alicia has provided tremendous help and guidance in both my academic study and personal life, and helped me survived during the most stressful time. Whenever I came to her for advice in research, she is always very responsive and send out a very detailed suggestions and comments to help me progress through different hurdles. Thanks to her guidance, I managed to publish two papers in my dissertation research.” – Shiqin Liu, Ph.D. Public Policy 2022, Researcher, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota [Read More]
“I made an appointment with her and I asked her if she would supervise my dissertation. She kindly agreed to the project. In retrospect, this appears to be one the best choices I have ever made in my life. I have benefited immensely from her guidance and support. She has set an example of excellence as a researcher, mentor, instructor, and role model. Alicia has been a model not only of scholarship but also of generosity and thoughtfulness, and her encouragement has meant the world to me. As busy as she always has been, she has never hesitated to help and encourage me in any way that she could. Without her inspiration, encouragement, support and mentorship, I doubt that I would have ever finished my dissertation and earn my doctorate degree. – Shahriar Sadighi, Ph.D. Economics 2017, Manager and Senior Economist, Amazon [Read More]
“I asked Alicia to be on my dissertation committee as my third reader. Alicia went far above and beyond in this role. When it came time for me to go on the job market, Alicia went out of her way to make sure that I was surviving what is typically a highly stressful time. Early in the job market season, Alicia took me aside at a conference that we were both attending to spend an hour helping me polish my job market paper, assess the best matches among the job listings that I was interested in, and to coach me regarding how to most effectively pitch myself to different types of prospective employers. This preparation proved invaluable as I spent the rest of the conference talking with prospective employers informally before the interview season got underway. When it came time for me to do most of my first-round interviews at the Allied Social Science Associations annual meeting, Alicia took time from her busy presentation schedule to take me to dinner after the first day to make sure that things were going well, and to allow me to debrief after my first few interviews. I felt immensely more confident after our dinner, and attribute this to her sage advice and encouragement. Her thoughtful mentorship through my job search process was invaluable, and critical to my success on the academic job market.” – Rachel Sederberg, Ph.D. Economics 2019, Visiting Professor at Bowdoin College, now Director of Research at Lightcast [Read More]
“What first struck me was her ability to explain complex topics. My background is in data science, not economics or policy. Professor Modestino was patient and gave me the time and resources to learn. What sets Professor Modestino apart as a research mentor is her ability to balance guidance with independence. For instance, we were struggling to find supporting evidence for a specific question on AI’s impact on job opportunities. Our one hour weekly meetings were a mix of brainstorming, teaching, and presentations. Professor Modestino would suggest directions, but also trusted me to try directions of my own. She expected independence, which motivated me to think through topics on my own and become a better researcher. When I inevitably got stuck, she was available and willing to help me. This level of intellectual engagement has not only advanced my research but fundamentally changed how I approach large complex problems with no clear answers.” – Sam Westby, Ph.D. Network Science 2025, searching for a postdoc while having too much fun as a cycling and bike touring Instagram influencer with 70k followers. [Read More]
“Dr. Modestino was a cornerstone of my time at Northeastern. Beyond her excellence as a scholar, she has been, and continues to be, an incredible mentor, leader, and resource. When I began college in the fall of 2018, I was uncertain of my academic path. It was a flyer in Ryder Hall advertising a Women in Economics event that first introduced me to Dr. Modestino. After hearing her speak, I was struck not only by her expertise and impressive résumé, but by her warmth and approachability. Despite her demanding schedule, she offered to meet with me and has never failed to make time since. I know many students who can say the same. That is who Dr. Modestino is: a renowned scholar who brings the same energy and generosity to her mentorship of students. She embodies what it means to be an educator. She supports our community not only through research and teaching, but by making her insight, time, and resources available to all, well beyond the boundaries of the classroom.” – Katharine Stecher, B.S. in Economics 2022, J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School ‘27. [Read More]
“As a young woman entering the traditionally male-dominated field of economics, I often felt unsure of my place. Dr. Modestino was a role model who encouraged me to find my voice and take up space. Her support empowered me to pursue and succeed in two competitive, high-intensity co-ops in the finance industry. Though I ultimately decided not to pursue academic research at this time, Dr. Modestino remains a constant source of encouragement as I begin my full-time career at Fidelity Investments as a Research Associate. Dr. Modestino’s impact on me (and on so many others) goes far beyond the classroom or research lab. Her mentorship is personal, her standards are high, and her belief in her students is unwavering.” – Julia Nadolne, B.S. in Economics 2025, Research Associate, Fidelity Investments [Read More]
“Dr. Modestino has served as one of my biggest faculty supporters during my time at Northeastern and one of the biggest contributors to my growth as a researcher and student. Her work and experience as both a professor and researcher are beyond impressive, but her ability to execute this work with genuine care, curiosity, humility, and passion speaks to her remarkability. My experience with her has shown that Dr. Modestino is always guided by the why behind her work and never lets the distance between intellectual research on spreadsheets and real-world impacts on students become too great or obfuscated. Dr. Modestino was always willing to write a letter of recommendation on my behalf for both research and non-research opportunities and even guided me through some application processes as a first-time applicant despite her extremely busy schedule. Receiving funding towards my research efforts played a key role in improving my research practices, enabling me to seek feedback from others, practice formal research writing, and even present my work for the first time at Northeastern’s RISE expo as part of the PEAK cohort.” – Sophie Sawyers, B.S. Economics and Data Science 2025, Recruitment + Talent Coordinator, Scout [Read More]
“My work with Dr. Modestino has made my time at Northeastern substantially better. Not only was Dr. Modestino a great and eager teacher, but she was someone I always felt I could talk to. She is a woman of accomplishment who I would have otherwise been too timid to talk to, were it not for her welcoming demeanor and frequent efforts to reach out to the youngest members of the economics department and major. Throughout my employment, Dr. Modestino took time out of her incredibly busy schedule to sit down and get to know each of her RA’s. Not only did she go through her research in detail, but she answered any and every question we had. Dr. Modestino did not simply want her RA’s to get their work done, she wanted us to learn something from it. As someone who had just switched into the economics major, this was an invaluable experience. It not only allowed me to see what economics looks like in the real world, but gave me one-on-one time with an accomplished economist whom I greatly admire.” – Erica Ann Smith, B.S. Economics 2020, Financial Advisor and Planning Specialist, Morgan Stanley [Read More]
Supervision of Post-Doctoral Students
Hanna Hoover (2022–2023), Aria Golestani (2022–2024), Susan Parker (2023–2024), Josh Lown (2023–present), Hitanshu Pandit (2023–present)
Supervision of Ph.D. Students
Dissertation Committees (Program, degree year, title, placement, role)
- Shahriar Sadighi (Economics, 2017, Essays in Empirical Labor Economics, Amazon, Chair)
- Michael Gleba (Public Policy, 2019, Making Zoning Alienable, City of Newton, Member)
- Mark Gooley (Economics, 2019, Understanding Mortgage Choice, Northeastern University, Chair)
- Richard Paulsen (Economics, 2019, Three Essays in Productivity and Earnings, University of Vermont, Member)
- Rachel Sederberg (Economics, 2019, Three Essays in Labor Economics, Bowdoin College, Member)
- Urbashee Paul (Economics, 2022, Essays on Skilled-Labor Immigration and Economic Mobility, Analysis Group, Chair)
- Shiqin Liu (Public Policy, 2022, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Economic Development: Spatial Variations and Empirical Analyses of Firm Formation, Small Business Innovation and Income Inequality, Center for Transportation Research, University of Minnesota, Chair)
- Forrest Hangen (Public Policy, 2024, The Financial Motives and Legal Responsibilities of Landlords: Using Urban Informatics to Model Landlords’ Management Strategies, Phreesia Life Sciences, Member)
- Tomer Stern (Economics, 2024, Applied Microeconomic Insights: Occupational Licensing, Employer Concentration, and Social Movements, Burning Glass Institute, Member)
- Zach Finn (Economics, 2025, Three Essays on the Empirical Microeconomics of Household Finance: Examining Medical Debt, Birth Cohort Size, and Childcare, Massachusetts Health Policy Commission, Member)
- Samuel Westby (Network Science, 2025, Focused and Panoramic Perspectives on the Future of Work, Chair)
- Elijah Miller (Public Policy, defended proposal, expected 2025, Chair)
- Peiran Cheng (Economics, defended proposal, expected 2026, Member)
Experiential Ph.D. engagements (Program, degree date, title of engagement)
- Rachel Sederberg (Economics, 2019, An Evaluation of the Boston Youth Credit Building Program)
Funded Research Assistantships (Program, date of assistantship)
Shahriar Sadighi (Economics, 2015–2017), Richard Paulsen (Economics, 2017–2019), Rachel Sederberg (Economics, 2016–2019), Urbashee Paul (Economics, 2019–2022), John Fallon (Economics, 2020), Ioana Hulbert (Political Science, 2020), Kendall Bailey (Political Science, 2020), Philip Rubin-Streit (Economics, 2020), Shiqin Liu (Public Policy, 2020–2022), Tianyi Tao (Economics, 2021), Abigail Ballou (2022), Nathaniel Lawshe (Criminal Justice, 2021–2022), Roy Gernhardt (2022–2023), Tomere Stern (Economics, 2021–2024), JD Foster (Sociology, 2023–2024), Zach Finn (Economics, 2023–2025), Peiran Cheng (Economics, 2023–present), Sebastian Ramirez (Public Policy, 2025–present)
Supervision of Master’s Students
Master’s theses and directed studies (Program, degree date, title)
- Skadi Renooy, (Public Policy Exchange Student, 2014, Bottling Community Identity and a Sense of Place)
- Walter McHugh (Economics and Computer Science, 2018, Unstructured Data Toolkit for Social Science)
- Tom Hopper (Public Policy, 2019, Evaluating Residential Density Around Fixed Route Transit Stations in Greater Boston)
- Matt Blackbourn (Public Policy, 2024, Massachusetts Workforce Development at a High-Level: Context on Governance and Public Programs for Meeting Green Economy Workforce Needs)
Paid Research Assistantships (Program, date of assistantship)
Walter McHugh (Economics and Computer Science, 2015–2018), Linda Li (MPA, 2015) Amy Campbell (MPA, 2018–2019), Joelle Juarez (MPA, 2019–2021), Skye Olander (JD/LPP, 2020–present), Julia Vasta (MPS, 2020–present), Christine Yu (MPP, 2021–2022), Kat Stecher (MPP, 2023–2024), Eleanor White (MUPP, 2023–2024), Nathaniel Parker (2024), Joseph Koroma (2024–present).
Supervision of Undergraduate Students
PEAK Awards for Undergraduate Research
- Eric Bell, (Economics, Fall 2024, Analyzing Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Survey)
- Sophie Sawyers (Economics and Data Science, Fall 2024, Designing a Data Dashboard for Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Survey)
- Samara Shankar (Economics and Data Science, Fall 2024, Analyzing Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Survey)
Independent Studies (Program, semester/year of independent study, title)
- Yingjun Lin (Economics, Spring 2018, How Summer Jobs Programs Affect Behavior)
- Erica Smith (Economics, Spring 2018, Financial Capability in Summer Jobs Programs)
- Jennifer Goldberg (Economics, Fall 2018, Gender Disparities in Economics Seminars)
- Ryan Megahey (Economics, Spring 2019, ESL Programs in Massachusetts)
Paid Research Assistantships (Program, date of assistantship)
Tess Pritchard (Economics, 2015–2018), Yingjun Lin (Economics, 2017–2018), Malia Bow (Economics, 2017–2018), Idelsa Sanchez (Economics, 2017–2018), Erica Smith (Economics, 2017–2018), Kimani Taylor (Economics, 2018), Jaqueline Chang (Economics, 2018), Eeling Chong (Economics, 2018), Eli Fenichel (Economics, 2018), Peyton Luxford (Economics, 2018), Jennifer Goldberg (Economics, 2018–2019), Anabella DeLoach (DMSB, 2019), Alyssa Pascoe (Economics, 2019), Caroline Hegg (Economics, 2019–2021), Katharine Stecher (Economics, 2019–2022), Julia Naldone (Economics, 2022), Sawyer Dixon (Economics, 2022), Isabel Ratto (Economics, 2022–2023), Mikhail Ankudovych (Economics, 2024), Maria Jerghiuta (Economics, 2024), Sophie Sawyers (Economics and Data Science, 2024–present), Eric Bell (Economics, 2024–present), Samara Shankar (Economics and Data Science, 2024–present), Emma Young (Economics, 2024–present).
